Once you’ve read it, or if you have already, you may recall a little segment where I talk about boot-ground coffee being better than pre-ground… and this is true.

 That having been said, our goal is not merely “good enough.”  You probably are already aware of this, even if you’ve only tried our coffee once.  So, in the spirit of good, better, and best, I ask you to take a hard look at what many (myself included) consider to be the second most important tool in regards to coffee excellence: your grinder.

 A Few Things To Consider

Whether looking to acquire your first grinder, or upgrading from your current grinder, there are a few key factors that you’ll want to consider, aside from grind quality.

Price

Naturally, cost is important for the average consumer.  Be realistic about what it will cost, and be willing to part with the money.  High quality grinders often give many, many years of service (much unlike cheap grinders), so it is worth considering when thinking twice about the previous sentence.

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Usable Counter Space

Commercial grinders often take up a good amount of space on your kitchen counter.  If you are a die-hard coffee lover (like me), you probably don’t mind giving up a little bit of usable space for the sake of a better cup of coffee.  Thankfully, however, there are an awful lot of excellent domestic grinders that don’t take up a lot of space.

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Burr Type

Good grinders come in one of two styles of burr assembly: flat or conical.  The general consensus is that conical burrs tend to enhance aromatics, while flat burrs tend to sort of even out and meld flavors in the cup.  So, if you love acidity, consider going conical. If you love body, consider going flat.  Ultimately, this may make less of a difference than the previous two considerations, but if you’re between two otherwise comparable grinders, this information may be useful in making a final decision.

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 Intended Brew Method(s)

Do you plan to brew drip coffee?  French Press?  Aeropress?  Espresso?  Different brew methods require different sized coffee particles for optimum results.  Some grinders are purpose built for espresso, some are versatile, and some are best suited for drip brew methods.  Knowing your brewing requirements will help to quickly narrow down the list for you, and make it easier to sort by price.  If the quality of your espresso is at all important to you, I highly recommend considering a purpose built espresso grinder.  If not, you don’t require as much precision and may be quite happy with a less expensive grinder.

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Espresso: Precision is Significant

Espresso is made using very fine coffee particles, and require a grinder capable of producing a consistent grind at a very fine setting.  The reason consistency is so important in an espresso grinder is that espresso brewing happens under a lot of pressure (9bar, or ~135psi) in a very short amount of time.  Inconsistencies in grind will not only result in a varied of extraction rate, but may also result in extreme channeling.

Doser, or Doserless?

A doser is a container on the front of an espresso grinder that catches the coffee as it is ground, and dispenses it into the portafilter by pulling the doser handle.  It was originally designed to dispense pre-measured volumes of ground coffee for speed of use. (i.e. – 1 pull of the handle for 1 shot of espresso, or 2 pulls for a double shot)  We have moved beyond pre-grinding coffee for any application, but the doser design still has its fans (as I am).  When the handle is pulled continuously during grinding, the coffee is still ground fresh per espresso, and the vanes in the doser help to break up clumps and “fluff” the grounds before they fall into the filterbasket.

There are two sides to this.  The up side is consistency of the condition of the grounds (fluffy vs clumpy).   The down side to a doser, is that a very small amount of residual stale grounds is inevitable.  For this reason, many people favor espresso grinders without a doser.  These are referred to as doserless grinders.  The benefit of these is that you do not have the pull the doser handle to dispense coffee into the portafilter, and there is presumably no stale coffee present in the espresso.  Which should you choose?  That’s up to you.  We all arrange priorities differently.  If control of dose preparation is more important to you, go with a doser model.  If absolute freshness is more important to you, go with a doserless.

All Purpose Domestic Grinders

If you are currently in the market for a grinder that is capable of an acceptable grind for espresso all the way up to French Press, it’s a great time to be a buyer.  A few short years ago, one had to choose whether they wanted the primary focus of their grinder to be espresso, or everything else.  Now, consumer demand has grown so much that Baratza has released several domestic grinders that do double duty almost seamlessly.

In addition, these grinders are fantastic for all around use, even if you never plan to use it for espresso.  Many coffee professionals use just such a grinder for cupping and home use.

Of course, if you’re obsessive about your espresso, even if you enjoy other brew methods, you may consider looking into a new (or used) commercial espresso grinder. (like I did)  No, it’s not as convenient as an all purpose grinder with a grounds catch bin, but it is certainly faster with a pretty great grind quality (provided you don’t grind too coarse).

Doing it By Hand

This is by far the cheapest and most travel-friendly option. There are a few hand grinders on the market that are fantastic, especially at finer grind settings. Some of the more common and cheaper models come from Japan (Hario, Kyocera, Porlex), some more stylish and useful hand grinders from Germany are slightly more expensive(Zassenhaus), while some that focus more on precision can be more expensive (Orphan Espresso – USA).

If you plan to brew a large volume of coffee, or if you pull back to back shots of espresso, a hand grinder may be  more trouble than the savings is worth.  That having been said, the fragrance from coffee ground by a ceramic hand mill is vastly superior to coffee ground by an electric grinder on average.

Which one is right for you?

There should be enough information here by now that you can make a basic decision about what kind of grinder is right for you.  It is important to remember, however, that when it comes to electric grinders, the old adage “You get what you pay for” is absolutely true.  If you see a grinder for less than $100, I would skip it entirely.  If a grinder’s  packaging says “burr grinder”, it is not an indication that it is capable of producing a consistently even grind.  If you’re unsure, ask what material the burrs are made of.  Ceramic and steel are good materials.  Ask if the burrs are replaceable.  Every good electric grinder (and several manual grinders) have replaceable burr sets.

It is important also to note that the grinder is the single most important tool in regards to taste.  The better your grinder, the better your coffee will taste.

As always, if you are still on the fence and would like help, I (Jason) am always available via our Contact form, and I would be more than happy to help guide your decision based on your needs.  Happy brewing!

It’s back!  We are proud to introduce Christmas Blend from AJ Coffee Company for 2012!

Christmas is our favorite Holiday, and the season is definitely our favorite time of year.  We finally have a chill in the air, with a touch of snow in Dallas, and a little more in West Texas.  Radio stations are blasting your yearly favorite Christmas songs, neighbors are putting up lights, you’ve probably already decorated your own home, hung your stockings, and decorated your tree.  What’s missing?  A cup of coffee to match the festivities, of course!

What is it?

It’s coffee.  You mean what’s it made of?  Oh, right.  This year’s blend consists of 50% of our current offering from Guatemala, and 50% of the much loved natural process from Ethiopia, the Sidama Ardi.

Last year, the theme was pure celebration.  The way we see it, there are two options for a Christmas Blend: a comfortable cup, or a celebratory cup.  That’s when we asked ourselves, “why not both?”  So that’s what we did.

Both Comfortable, and Celebratory

“They” said it couldn’t be done.. but we’re here to prove “them” wrong. (whoever “they” are)  With a medium-heavy body laced with spice, pear and berry-like fruit, with a cocoa foundation, we knew we had a winner.

Pairs excellently with cookies, pies, gingerbread, Irish whiskey and whipped cream, fruit cake, pannetone, cordial cherries, turkey, ham, sweet potatoes, laughter, good times, and great company.

Give When You Get: $2 of Every Bag Sold Goes to Charity

$2 for every 12oz or 1lb bag sold, and $3 for every 2lb bag sold through our web shop goes directly to Living Water International to help bring safe, clean water to communities in need.  With a mission we believe in, 99 projects in Ethiopia, and 97 projects in Guatemala (among other locales globally), we feel that this mission is worth supporting.

Plus, 10% OFF When You Buy Two or More!

When you buy 2 or more (of the same size) bags of Christmas Blend, get 10% off when you use the coupon code: SLEIGHRIDE

For your next Christmas party, do something different.  Bring the host a bag of our amazing Christmas Blend rather than the same old fare, and know that that good feeling you’ll get is well founded.

Never before has doing good tasted as good as it felt.

Order Yours TODAY!

Only $13.88 for a 12oz bag.

Watch this video on YouTube.

What’s the deal?  I’m glad you asked.

20% Off! (until 11/14/2012)
when you use the coupon code:

SANLUISROCKS

The catch?
It’s only good on ANY size, ANY quantity of the current favorite coffee:
Finca San Luis – Costa Rica

Remember, this deal ends on November 14th. (7 days away)
So Buy Now!

(Would you do us a favor? Share this deal with your coffee-loving friends! )

A lot of us seem to think that we have a good idea about why water is important, but today I’m going to answer a more important question: how is it important?  First, let’s consider what everyone already knows.

The Obvious

The ingredient responsible for turning tiny particles of whole roasted seeds of a coffee plant into a beverage is water.  Since most of what you’re consuming in that mug is the solution that the coffee is dissolved into, it stands to reason that this ingredient should taste good on its own.  After all, a recipe is only as good as its weakest ingredient.

Does this mean that I should use bottled water?

Maybe.  If the water out of your tap is delicious as is, it may not make sense to use bottled water.  If you have a water filtration system in place that transforms your barely-passable tap water into something that you would consider delicious, then there is also no need to bring plastic into this equation.

If you’re on the road, and you intelligently brought coffee, a grinder, and brewing equipment along for the journey, I would strongly suggest buying bottled water for use in your brewing.

The bottom line is this: if you would happily drink the water and consider it to be tasty, it’s safe to say that it won’t adversely affect the taste of your brewed coffee.

 The Less Obvious

 Distilled water is bad. 

What?  I said, distilled water is bad.  If you really like the taste of distilled water (and several people do), I highly recommend doing something different for your coffee.  The reason is that water is a solvent, and solvents tend to dissolve every soluble compound.  Now, there is a lot to love in coffee solubles, however, there are some solubles that you just don’t want in your cup.  Using distilled water is an excellent way to make sure that your cup tastes sharply bitter.

Mineral content is GOOD.

Some mineral content is good, as it can buffer the extraction rate of the solvent so that your coffee ends up tasting delicious.  Too much mineral content, and your water just can’t seem to pull enough out of the beautiful coffee that we roasted for you.  ~200TDS(total dissolved solids) is best, though ph has something to say about that as well.

Ph level matters.

Not that you have a whole lot of control over it, but if you’re savvy to these things, note that a slightly alkaline water is far better than a slightly acidic water.  Your coffee will thank you, and your health will thank you, too.

Oxygen is tasty.

Use freshly drawn water, not previously boiled (see.. I told you distilled was bad).  It turns out that water with some oxygen content tastes brilliant, and water with no dissolved gas tastes.. well.. flat.  This has an enormous impact on the taste of the finished product.

The Takeaway

Remember, a dish is only as good as its weakest ingredient.  If your water isn’t tasty, your coffee doesn’t stand a chance.  Don’t overlook this important component.  It makes up ~98.5% of your elixir of joy.  It’s worth the extra expense, especially if it’s something you drink every day. (doesn’t everyone?)

Variable Control

One of the perks of using a French Press is the amount of control that the user has over normal brew variables.

Dwell time, grind particle size, brew temperature, and rate of extraction. Yes, you CAN alter the rate of extraction beyond the three fundamental variables.
(for more information, read Coffee Brewing Basics.)

I tend to like longer extractions at a medium grind setting, in the higher end of the brew temperature range for our coffee.  Our coffees tend to be very dense beans, in general, and work extremely well with these fuller extractions.  More of the sugars are extracted, and it can take awhile for the bitters to take over when brewing with our roasts. (I’ve once tasted our Fazenda Rodomunho Natural after 8 minutes before pressing, brewed with water just off the boil, ground with a Bodum blade grinder.  It was absolutely delicious.)

Of course, if you like a lower temperature, less time, coarser grind, or any other change to fit your style, do it!  It’s your press, and your cup of coffee.

Versatility

I get the impression that a lot of people see the French Press as a brewer used in only one way.  That way is usually something like this: coarse grind, add water just off the boil, put the top on, wait 4 minutes, then press.  While this is a reliable starting point, it is just that: a starting point.

A French Press can be used for so much more. 

If you want to mimic the taste of the long-lost Clover brewer at home, just follow the same brew parameters.  Use a heavier dose, shorter dwell time, more agitation, and press hard and fast.

If you want to mimic the taste profile of a vac-pot, use a normal dose, normal temperature, minimal agitation, and cover the top with a plate to retain the heat during the dwell time.  At the end of the dwell time, “break” the crust (as in Cupping), allowing the grounds to settle.  Scrape the “bloom” and any floating grounds off of the top, and discard.  Last, place the plunger assembly on top, and gently press.

If you want to make a cold brew or cold brew concentrate, reach for your French Press.  For normal cold brew, use a normal brew ratio, add room temperature or cold filtered or spring water (do not use distilled. More on this later.), and leave on your counter top or in your refrigerator for 8 to 24 hours (depending on your taste preferences, steeping environment, chosen coffee, and grind particle size).  Don’t worry, cold brewing is more forgiving than you might think.

For a cold brew concentrate, do the same thing, but use more coffee grounds, and make a note of the new brew ratio so that you can properly dilute the concentrate later.

Alternative Uses

Need to strain something for a recipe, but don’t have a strainer?  Use your French Press!  (just be sure to clean it thoroughly immediately afterwards)

Want to put a little frothed milk on your iced latte made from your cold brew concentrate?  Add a little milk to your press, and pump up the jam (er.. pump up the foam.. you know what I meant).  Once again, be sure you clean it very thoroughly immediately afterwards.

It’s Thanksgiving, the pies are cool and ready to serve, but you forgot to whip the cream?  French Press to the rescue.  Just like frothing milk, whipping cream is possible.

I’ve even seen a french press used to juice fresh blueberries during a barista competition.  The point is, don’t let the fact that it’s “just a coffee brewer” stop you from being resourceful with your new favorite tool in the kitchen: your French Press.

Which Press to Buy?

The truth is, that for most brands, a press is a press is a press.  They all work the same way, though some are bigger, some are smaller, some are insulated steel, some are plastic, but most are glass.

If you want the industry standard, go with Bodum.  They are easy to find in big box stores, or online.  For a more refined looking press, you might like Frieling.  If you’re on a budget, you can get plastic presses pretty readily, or you can go to a discount department store or Ikea (I’m a fan of Ikea’s stainless insulated press for the price).

The bottom line is that you can (and should) get a new French Press almost anywhere, on any budget.  Every kitchen should have one.

What’s a coffee company to do?  Well… we’ve decided to buck the trend, go against the grain, and EXTEND the coffee appreciation to a full week-long event.  How are we doing that?  By extending our own celebration!

If you recall, we initially shared how we wanted to celebrate National Coffee Day with you.

We’ve decided to EXTEND the sale through Saturday, October 4th, making it a FULL SIX DAYS of “National Coffee Day” here at AJ Coffee Company.

We are sure you’ll agree, that great coffee is worth celebrating for more than one day.  That’s why we’ve extended our offer.  If you missed it on Saturday, there’s still time!  That’s 25% Off ALL coffees through our web shop when you check out using the coupon code ‘NTLCOFFEEDAY‘ !  Click Here to get YOUR bag of delicious, ethically sourced, fresh, artisan roasted specialty coffee.

This is a fantastic deal, and it won’t last long!

25% off ALL coffee through our web shop when you use the coupon code NTLCOFFEEDAY

You may have noticed the little snippet of information at the top of our web shop pages that reads:

All coffee is sold as whole bean to maximize aromatics and enjoyment.

I have been asked if we sell ground coffee.  It has been suggested (on more than one occasion) that we should at the very least offer ground coffee for coffee lovers who don’t have a grinder at home.  While it is true, that pre-ground AJ Coffee would taste far and away better than any other coffee you might be able to get your hands on, and while yes, there is such an idea as “good, better, best” in regards to pretty much everything, we have an issue with it.

We Will Never Sell a Compromised Product

Am I saying that pre-ground coffee is a compromised product?  Yes.  Yes I am.  But only because it’s true.  Once coffee is roasted, it begins to outgas.  That is, it begins to give off carbon dioxide.  It continues to give off carbon dioxide until the coffee is completely oxidized.

So What?  Its coffee, not a soda pop.

You are correct!  But, there’s a catch to all this.  You know what makes coffee so utterly delicious?  Aromatics.  Yes, those lovely volatile aromatics that waft up into your olfactory senses while the luscious liquor washes over your anticipating taste buds, providing you with a lively symphony of flavor.  Well, without those aromatics, your coffee would taste as dead as a two-week old bag of opened potato chips.  It would taste stale.  

What does that have to do with carbon dioxide?

I’m so glad you asked.  Remember when I said that carbon dioxide continues to leave the coffee until it is completely oxidized?  Remember when I said that those beautiful aromatics are volatile?  Well, carbon dioxide is a binder of those volatile aromatics.  This means that when the carbon dioxide leaves, it takes some of that glorious flavor with it until both are completely absent.

Okay, got it.  But that still doesn’t explain why grinding is bad.

Oh, but it does.  If you recall, the outgassing is caused by oxidation.  If I wanted to say, speed up said oxidation, I could increase the surface area of the material undergoing this break down… which is exactly what grinding does.  It has such a detrimental effect on coffee, that the coffee goes stale literally MINUTES AFTER GRINDING.  In other words, to sell pre-ground coffee is to sell stale coffee.  We simply cannot in good conscience sell you what we consider to be a destroyed product.

We Have a Responsibility

We have a responsibility to you, our customer.  We have a responsibility to the farmers who, through sweat and patience, produced the raw materials that we hold in such high regard.  (every chef knows, a dish is only as good as its weakest ingredient.. coffee is no different)

But, I don’t have a grinder..

I have often said that it is better to throw the whole bean coffee in a plastic bag, and grind it with the heal of your boot than to settle for pre-ground coffee.  IT’S THAT SIGNIFICANT.  So, use what you have, if you must.  Have a blender? Put it to good use!  A food processor?  A nut grinder?  A masticating juicer?  Use your imagination.

Of course, grind quality is ALSO important, but if you remember, we did acknowledge the validity of the “good, better, best” paradigm.  This is where it fits into our situation nicely.

Good: freshly roasted AJ coffee, ground before brewing.
Better: freshly roasted AJ coffee, ground at a good consistency just before brewing.
Best: freshly roasted AJ coffeee, ground in a high quality burr grinder just before brewing.

The Important Thing

Our job is to make it possible for you to get the most ENJOYMENT as possible out of every cup of coffee that you drink.

If you don’t have a high-dollar grinder, don’t sweat it.  Improvise!  Maximize the enjoyment.  After all, that’s what it’s all about.

Drink up,
Jason Haeger

On random Fridays, we’ve decided to offer Steal Deal discounts on one of the coffees that we offer.
We know that sometimes a little incentive is all that’s needed to make it worth while to try a new coffee.
And, let’s be honest, We don’t get to talk enough about why we love a single coffee so much.  We win, you win.  We ALL win.

So, What’s the Deal?  Is it Free?

Psssh.. You wish!  But it IS a great discounted rate.  We’re talking 35% off!
But what if I don’t want that coffee?  No big deal.  We’re still offering a double tax free sale of 16.5% off for the rest of our entire stock.

Cool!  But Why?

Because we know how awesome our coffee is, and we figure this might give you the chance to try it for next to nothing.  It’s also a “THANKS!” to those of you who have been supporting us since the beginning.
It’s not every week, though it may be.  It’s RANDOM.
So, check in every Friday to see if there is a Steal Deal for you to take advantage of.
If this isn’t love, I don’t know what is.

Today’s Steal Deal is Finca San Luis

This has been one of our most approachable clean coffees in our current line up.  It’s not complicated, has an extremely clean cup profile, and has enjoyable taste attributes.  It’s also the perfect coffee to celebrate the last hurrahs of summer.

It’s comprised of the heirloom varietal called Caturra, which is famous for its light body and high acidity.  This lends it well to being a fabulous candidate for Iced Coffee.

This coffee is from Finca (Spanish for Farm) San Luis, which resides at the foot of the central volcanic mountain range (Cordillera Central range) in Costa Rica near the town of Sabanilla

Finca San Luis is a five hectare (12.36 acres) farm on the Cafetalera Zamorana estate.  Onlly 50 bags are produced annually, and of that, only 30 bags are specialty grade.  In short, this excellent coffee is rare.  The fertile, volcanic soils and mild mountain climate provide ideal specialty coffee growing conditions.

What about ethics?  We wouldn’t even offer this coffee if it were sourced unethically.  Once mature, the coffee is taken to the estate’s mill for processing.  The solid coffee pulp left over at the end of the process is recycled and used as organic fertiliser on the estate, while the waste water is filtered naturally in purification lagoons to protect the water table.

Click Here to Steal your Deal NOW!Code:EIGHTTWENTY4

The Fine Print

Only 1 bag per coupon, and only 1 coupon per customer.  To use, add the Friday Steal Deal coffee to your cart, in any variation you choose (12oz, 1lb, 2lb, or 5lb if applicable).  Good for 1 day. (8/24/12 – 8/25/12)
Apply the coupon.  Checkout.

You MAY share this deal with your friends, neighbors, colleagues, co-workers, or anyone who you think might benefit from some AJ Coffee in their mug.

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Iced Coffee!

(what, you thought we’d leave you hanging?)

We mentioned earlier that this coffee makes a fantastic iced coffee.  So, we thought we’d share with you HOW to make iced coffee.  First things first.  Read our “Home Brewing Basics: Enjoy Better Coffee at Home” guide as a primer.

The Basics:
Use less water for the same dose of coffee.

For instance, if you want to make 1 liter of iced coffee, use 60g of coffee, but only use .6 liters (20.28oz) of water to brew it.  Brew it directly over the missing quantity of water’s worth (by weight) of ice (13.52oz).  Alternatively, you can brew first, then pour over the ice afterwards.  Your choice!  If that’s too complicated, you can cut it down to a 50/50 split, but the results won’t be quite as well balanced.

What’s our favorite method?
The Iced Chemex

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